Customer Reviews

The Momo Cookbook: A Gastronomic Journey Through North Africa

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a gorgeous book! The photography is unbelievable--I'm tempted to buy a second copy just to cut out and frame selected prints. But this treasure goes beyond appearances--the recipes are delightful and do-able. Some may complain that many of the ingredients are too exotic, but I find that to be much of the appeal of world cuisines. And while the book is indeed a British publication and measurements are most often given in metrics, American ounces are also given (in any case, a good-quality food scale is a great investment for the home chef). This title will be on my holiday gift-giving list for culinary friends and armchair travellers. As good as or better than my vast Paula Wolfert/Kitty Morse/Claudia Roden collection, and that ain't small potatoes! Or small pastilla...

This N.African now restauranteer in Europe desires to share his passion for his native cuisine, with its simplicity, mystery, and satisfying qualities.

It is cuisine that is not difficult to prepare, nor difficult to secure its ingredients. It is also cuisine that can use ingredient substitutes with success. It is above all cuisine to relax with and enjoy, not fast food but sensual cusine which takes in all the senses for a feast. I find this cuisine highly attractive and relaxing, a real cuisine to share with special friends.

This cookbook endeavors to be as its cuisine, attractive to the senses -- it has great photos as well as great accompanying copy -- the recipes and history behind them are chosen carefully, so that there is not just an abundance, but some very good ones.

There are fine sections on the people, the ingredients, then three countries' cuisine: Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. I'm especially fond of this cuisine. These recipes caught my attention and palette: "Harira-- Moroccan soup which is yummy, loaded with lentils and chickpeas, veggies, grains, and lamb or beef. Then one of my favorites due to its being part of my first Moroccan meal -- Pigeon Pastilla, which I substitute with chicken with outstanding results. The King Prawn Tagine is scrumptuous, with its layering in tagine of fennels and tomatoes with prawns cooking on top of this aromatic bed. Or a knockout of main course: Confit of Duck Tagine with pears, figs and glazed carrots. Amazingly refreshing Couscous Seffa--a sugary delight with raisines and tea and orange blossom water with buttermilk, a Moroccan rice pudding type dish.

An Algerian hit is "Lamb Ribs in a Coriander Crust".

There is additional aids on Wines and Drinks, menu ideas, glossary, book references.

I picked up this book as soon as I saw the cover and when I scaned the insides I knew immediately that I had to own this book. I adore books that take my hand and draw me in and effortlessly and skillfully transport me to another place. With spell-binding precision,this book gives us a glimpse into the people, the markets, the food and the land of North Africa, and creates a mood that prepares us for the aromas, flavors and colors of these traditional savory and sweet dishes. I was impressed with the number of tagine recipes given, and immediately made the Chicken Tagine with Honeyed Pears and Cinnamon. This was easy to prepare and as delicious as it suggested. I have also made and loved the Soup of Chick-peas, Pumpkin and Aniseed which I served with the Couscous with Fish (in an improvised couscoussier ) to a small group for dinner. The recipe for Tomato Confit with Golden Sesame Seeds is a wonderful example of how ethnically diverse a simple tomato can be.

This gets four stars because I think it is lean on recipes.

It does, however, have a wealth of text and images. I normally avoid cookbooks with pictures of food in them, but this one is definitely worth and exception to the rule. The ingrediants are attainable too, and I live in a small town far from a large city. I especially like that the recipes are in metric. Sadly, since this is a British cookbook, it isn't a sign that America is modernizing.